Ukraine's air defence setback: S‑300 system strike impact
Ukrainians lost a crucial air defence system in the Sumy region, which safeguarded the airspace over the Kursk region, areas held by Ukrainians. We explore what the Ukrainians lost and how it occurred.
Footage surfaced online from a Russian drone, which identified components of the Ukrainian S-300 air defence system battery in the Sumy region. It appears that either an Iskander-M ballistic missile or a Tornado-S system missile with a cluster warhead struck the S-300P system launcher, as suggested by the large explosion in the air before the explosions on the ground. The Ukrainian launcher was entirely destroyed, indicated by the explosion of transported rockets and dense white smoke.
The S-300 systems: The core of Ukraine's defence, lacking missiles
In the first two years of the war, Ukrainians effectively countered Russian ballistic and cruise missiles. The situation significantly deteriorated in the third year due to the near depletion of missiles for the S-300 systems, and the deliveries of western Patriot and SAMP/T systems were insufficient compared to the requirements.
Presently, operational S-300P and S-300W system batteries are scarce, as the sole producer of missiles for them is based in Russia. Although Ukrainians received an S-300P system battery from Slovakia, as well as missiles for refurbishment from Bulgaria, that's the extent of it. The only other possibility would be Greece, which has repeatedly declined to transfer its stockpiles, or the creation of new missiles with assistance from Western partners.
The S-300 systems: One of the few resources the Ukrainians have to counter ballistic missiles
The S-300 systems were developed in the 1970s in two variants, P and W. The S-300P was designed for the air force and navy, with a focus on combating aircraft, and had the additional ability to intercept ballistic missiles, while the S-300W system, introduced to the army a few years later, was more optimised for countering ballistic missiles.
After the break-up of the USSR, the S-300P family system became more prevalent, which, despite marginally inferior parameters, was significantly more affordable. It allows for engaging targets such as aircraft at distances up to 150 kilometres and altitudes up to 24 kilometres, and ballistic missiles at distances up to 40 kilometres, depending on the missiles used.
All the employed missiles require continuous guidance by illuminating the target with a fire control radar beam until the moment of impact, which considerably constraints defence capabilities in cases of, for instance, simultaneous attacks from several directions.
Despite the noted drawback, this is an old yet effective method in many air defence systems. To destroy the target, there is a fragmentation warhead of about 150 kilograms with a proximity fuse.
